Speaking to the media in Multan, the prime minister said that drone strikes were counterproductive and that the country needed the technology to take out the targets itself. He said that militant strongholds had been dismantled and the militants were now going for ‘soft targets’.
Documents released by Wikileaks on December 1 revealed that Gilani had allowed drone strikes in the tribal areas, saying they would protest the attacks in the National Assembly and then ignore them. When Interior Minister Rehman Malik advised the US to hold off “alleged Predator attacks until after the Bajaur operation”, Gilani brushed off the remarks saying:
“I don’t care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We’ll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it.”
The statements were reportedly made during meetings with unnamed US officials in August 2008.
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